virsh

Virsh

virsh is a powerful command-line tool for managing virtual machines (VMs) created with libvirt, a popular open-source virtualization platform. With virsh, you can perform various tasks such as creating, editing, deleting, and monitoring VMs, as well as managing storage and network resources.

Use cases:

• Create new VMs from scratch or clone existing ones
• Edit VM configurations, including CPU, memory, networking, and storage settings
• Start, stop, pause, and resume VMs
• Manage VM snapshots and save/restore VM states
• Monitor VM performance using various metrics (e.g., CPU usage, memory consumption)
• Automate tasks using virsh scripts or integrate with other tools like Ansible or SaltStack

Special hacks:

• Use the -c option to edit a VM’s configuration file directly from within virsh. For example: virsh -c <vm_name> setvcpu 2 sets the number of VCPUs for a VM.
• Utilize the --persistent flag when creating a new VM snapshot to save disk changes. For example: virsh snapshot-create --persistent my_vm
• Monitor multiple VMs simultaneously using the -l option, which enables live updating of VM states. For example: virsh list -l

Target audience:

This command is suitable for intermediate to advanced Linux users who have experience with virtualization and are looking to streamline their VM management processes. While beginners can still benefit from learning about virsh, it’s essential to understand basic concepts like libvirt, VMs, and storage before diving into this command.

Prerequisites:

• Basic understanding of virtualization concepts
• Familiarity with Linux system administration
• Experience with libvirt and/or other virtualization tools

By mastering the virsh command, you’ll be able to efficiently manage your virtual infrastructure, automate tasks, and monitor VM performance – taking your Linux skills to the next level!

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